Rain gutter devices

ABSTRACT

Gutter devices for keeping debris out of a gutter are disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/684,426, entitled “RAIN GUTTERDEVICES,” filed on May 25, 2005, which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to rain gutters, and more particularly to adevice permitting water to flow into the gutter while preventing debrisfrom entering the gutter.

2. Discussion of Related Art

Most residences and many commercial buildings have gutters at the edgeof the roof to collect water and direct the water away from the buildingthrough a downspout. These gutters may be formed of aluminum, copper,wood, steel or other materials. A problem often arises, however, whendebris such as tree leaves falls into the gutter. The debris causes thedownspouts to clog, preventing the gutter system from performing asintended. While the problem is easily remedied by cleaning the gutters,the added maintenance can be frustrating.

A number of devices have been proposed to reduce or eliminate the needto clean gutters. These devices have fallen into two separateclasses—screens and deflectors.

Gutter screens typically involve a fine or coarse screen over the top ofthe gutter. Water flows into the gutter through the screen, while thescreen prevents debris from entering the gutter.

Deflector devices do not include any internal screens or other openingsthrough which water can pass. Instead, the deflector has a curved edge.Water and debris passes over the top of the surface of the deflector.The surface tension of the water forces the water to follow the curvededge and flow back into a gutter. Debris, however, flows off of thecurved edge and over the edge of the gutter. Such deflector devices aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,404,775. In many cases, a bottom edge ofthe deflector rests on the lip of the gutter. The bottom edge of thedeflector is held to the main body (and the curved edge) by longitudinalsegments. Water flows over the curved edge of the deflector and into thegutter, falling between the longitudinal segments. The bottom edge issecured to the gutter using a clip, attached underneath the bottom edge,which hooks into the lip of the gutter. In some commercial embodiments,the water passes over more than one curved edge. Each curved edgefunctions as above, hopefully having water fall into the gutter (betweenthe longitudinal segments attaching the curved edge to the lower curvededge or lower part of the deflector, which rests on the lip of thegutter) by following one of the curved edges.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,631 shows a unique device that includes both ascreen-like portion with a unique shaped hole, and also has a bend (orcurved) section where water follows the curve into the gutter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, are not intended to be drawn to scale. In thedrawings, each identical or nearly identical component that isillustrated in various figures is represented by a like numeral. Forpurposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in everydrawing. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a gutter device according to thepresent invention, as installed.

FIG. 1B illustrates another embodiment of a gutter device according tothe present invention, as installed.

FIG. 1C illustrates another embodiment of a gutter device according tothe present invention, as installed.

FIG. 1D illustrates another embodiment of a gutter device according tothe present invention, as installed.

FIG. 2 illustrates a gutter device according to the embodiment shown inFIG. 1C.

FIG. 3A illustrates a perspective view of a waffle cut opening of FIG.1.

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a punch opening of FIG. 1C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carriedout in various ways. Also, the phraseology and terminology used hereinis for the purpose of description and should not be regarded aslimiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having,”“containing”, “involving”, and variations thereof herein, is meant toencompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well asadditional items.

In most cases, screens have proven inadequate for keeping gutters freeof debris. Generally, the screens permit too much debris to flow throughthe screen openings into the gutter. In addition, screens sometimescollect debris, and water flows over the debris and, therefore, over theedge of the gutter. Accordingly, gutter screens have reduced, but noteliminated, the need for cleaning of gutters.

Debris deflectors have also proved inadequate. By relying entirely onthe surface tension of the water, the gutter deflectors are notsufficiently efficient. Accordingly, for particularly heavy rains, thewater flows over the edge of the deflector and over the lip of thegutter—the water never enters the gutter and the gutter fails. Inaddition, the deflector devices currently available cannot be used onsteep roofs. Even if the device were installed on a steep roof, waterwould pass over the device so quickly that it would, again, flow overthe edge of the lip of the gutter and straight down to the ground.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,631, naming Edmund Lowrie as inventor and issued onJan. 25, 2000, which is hereby fully incorporated herein by reference,addresses these deficiencies by showing embodiments using both types ofmechanisms.

The particular embodiments shown in that application, however, have thegutter protector installed so that the bottom lip rests on the barhangers or gutter nails/spikes for the gutter. This can be problematicbecause (i) hangers may not be uniform from gutter system to guttersystem; (ii) hangers may not be spaced well on a particular house forinstallation; (iii) installation of the system requires carefulattention to the spacing of gutter protector from the edge of thegutter; and (iv) the system is not a closed system, that is, it is not asystem that appears to create a substantially enclosed surface among thegutter, fascia and protector. A closed system can be desirable in somecontexts where there is a large amount of small debris or where wind,tree branches or ice may exert pressure on the protector increasing thechance of movement after installation. Certain embodiments of thepresent invention may address one or more of these issues.

FIG. 1A illustrates one embodiment of a gutter protector 10, accordingto the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 1A, the gutterprotector 10 is installed on a gutter 15. The gutter 15 is attached to afascia board 14 a. To hold a front lip 15 a of the gutter 15 up, a barhanger 16 is installed. The bar hanger is shaped to wrap into the frontlip 15 a of the gutter 15, and is nailed to the fascia board at 16 a.The gutter 15 is located at a level below the roofing board 14 b andshingles 19.

The gutter protector 10 includes an upper portion 12 a that is tuckedunderneath the shingles 19, and on top of the roof board 14 b. If thegutter system includes flashing (not shown), the gutter protector 10 maybe installed on top of the flashing as well. Thus, the upper portion 12a of the gutter protector is designed to extend up under the roof apredetermined amount, such as 3 inches. The amount may be selected toassure that the gutter protector remains secure under the shingle, butnot so far that it is difficult to install or runs into nails from theshingles.

The gutter protector 10 further includes a middle portion 12 b. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the middle portion 12 b includes twosets of openings 11 a, through which water may fall as indicated by thearrows 13 a. The middle portion 12 b also includes a ridge 11 b (otherembodiments omit this ridge, of course). This ridge slows the flow ofwater over the gutter protector 10, causing additional water to flowthrough holes 11 a.

The gutter protector 10 also includes an arcuate bend 12 c and a lowerportion 12 d. As indicated by arrows 13 a, water may flow over thearcuate bend 12 c. Surface tension causes the water to follow the bend,along the lower portion 12 d of the gutter protector 10, and ultimatelyinto the gutter 15. The bottom-most portion 17 a of the gutter protector10 rests on the bar hanger 16.

The arrow 13 a indicates how water flows through and around the gutterprotector 10 into the gutter 15. Debris, such as leaves, 13 b isgenerally too large to flow through the openings 11 a and is not held bysurface tension of the water to flow around arcuate bend 12 c.Accordingly, debris 13 b flows off of the edge of the gutter protector10, over the lip 15 a of the gutter 15 and to the ground.

In this example, the bottom 17 a of gutter protection device 10 isfolded to form a double-thickness (in this example) flat portion 100that rests on bar hanger 16 and touches a portion 107 of gutter 15. Forwater to enter the gutter, it needs to pass through one or more openings(e.g., slots) at the point of entry (e.g., at 100 in FIG. 1A).

In this particular embodiment, two types of openings are included withinthe gutter protector 10. One type has a depressed portion, as describedwith reference to FIG. 3A below. The other are a series of simple holesor slots located at 100. The difference in hole configurations, althoughnot necessary for all embodiments, takes advantage of the differentfunctions, e.g., filtering on a flat surface versus permitting water toenter the gutter after it has been filtered by adhesion.

The bottom portion 17 a may be sized so that, when a gutter protector isinstalled at a proper horizontal distance on the gutter (e.g., left toright in FIG. 1A), the bottom portion 17 a is engaged with (e.g.,touching) the lip of the gutter 107. This particular embodimenttherefore has the advantage of providing a mechanical mechanism toproperly space the gutter protector 10 so that debris e.g., 13 b, fallsover the outside edge of the lip of the gutter, while water follows thearcuate bend and falls into the gutter at 100. In the prior art Lowriepatent, proper horizontal positioning relative to the gutter requiredskill on the part of the installer and was, therefore, also morevulnerable to an improper installation.

In this particular example, the bottom portion 17 a engages the lip 107of the gutter in a manner permitting the bottom portion to be located atleast slightly underneath the lip. In such an embodiment, the bottomportion further serves to hold the lower portion of the gutter protectordown in the gutter and reduces, for example, the risk of strong winds orbranches from lifting (or bending) the bottom portion up out of thegutter. Such a device may be installed without the use of clips attachedto gutter and protector, although clips of course may also be used tofurther reduce such risks.

FIG. 1B shows another embodiment of the present inventions, where likereference numerals represent like aspects of the device. In thisembodiment, the bottom portion 101 of the gutter protector 10 rests ontop of the upper lip of the gutter 15 a. In this design, the bendbetween the middle portion and the lower portion is reduced and is lesslikely to filter debris. In this embodiment, openings 102 a and 102 b(described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 3B) are located inthe lower portion of the gutter protector 10 and permit water to enterthe gutter. This particular configuration may be less preferred,however. Because adhesion has not fully filtered debris, debris may becaught on the portion of the openings 102 a, 102 b that project out fromthe gutter.

In an alternative design, these openings may be positioned in the samemanner, but turned upside down and with the metal projecting into thegutter rather than out. In this configuration, each such opening wouldfilter water (by adhesion) into the gutter while debris falls downoutside of the gutter.

In this embodiment, the bottom portion 101 is configured to line up (orbe just short) of the outside of the top of the gutter lip. Thisconfiguration again permits a straightforward alignment of gutterprotector and gutter. To secure the gutter protector, however, a clip(not shown) may be used or screws/pop rivets drilled through the bottomportion of the protector and the gutter.

FIG. 1C shows another embodiment of the present inventions, where likereference numerals again represent like aspects of the device. In thisembodiment, a lower portion 104 of the protector 10 again rests on topof the lip 15 a of the gutter. In this embodiment, the gutter protectordevice is made from a sheet of aluminum coil, bent into the shape shown(excluding downward extending segment 103), with holes then punched intothe device. In this configuration, the lower portion 104 is double bentand flat, i.e., without section 103. Before installation (either at thesite or at the place of manufacture), the lower portion may periodicallyalong the length of the protector be cut in two places with the segmentof the lower portion that is between the cuts bent downward, as shown at103 of FIG. 1C. The spaced downward segments allow the gutter protectiondevice to be consistently, reproducably be positioned relative to thelip of the gutter.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1C, after the arcuate bend, a bottom portionof the protector is slanted with respect to vertical as shown in FIG. 1Cand unlike the embodiment of FIG. 1B. This slanting permits greaterfiltering of debris and water, through adhesion. In this embodiment, tworows of openings 102 a, 102 b, allow water to enter the gutter. In thisconfiguration (i.e., slanting away from vertical) the openingconfiguration of 102 a, 102 b, with a portion of the gutter protectorextending outward assists in collection water to enter the gutter,particularly where water flow is great. Other hole configurations may beused and additional holes could be provided for this embodiment as well,e.g., holes or slots at the lowermost bend of the lower portion (e.g.,comparable to slots 100 of FIG. 1A).

FIG. 1D shows another embodiment of the present inventions, where likereference numerals again represent like aspects of the device. As forFIG. 1C, the bottom portion includes a double bend to form a flat lowerportion 105. In this example, however, the flat portion is bent upward.As for the example of FIG. 1C, as initially manufactured, the flat lowerportion does not include a downward portion 106. Before insallation,along the length of a segment, two slits can be made and the segmentbetween the slits bent downward. In this example, however, the tightdouble bend indicated at 105 may also be unbent to some degree, e.g., ata right angle. The bends of the lower portion 105 may be sized so thatthe vertical part of segment 106 is sized to allow the horizontalportion of 106 to extend underneath the lip 15 a of the gutter. In thisexample, not only is there a mechanical interface for assisting withproper alignment of gutter protector and gutter, in addition the segment106 can assist in holding the gutter protector in place with respect tothe lip of the gutter, without the use of additional clips (althoughsuch clips could be used).

Such segments may, but need not, be positioned over hangers.

The process of forming or attaching a mechanical interface (in thisparticular example, the cutting and bending or segments 106 of a lowerportion 105) may be done at the point of manufacture where qualitycontrol and uniformity is easier to maintain. In the alternative, suchcutting (done with snips) and bending can be done in the field, whichpermits locating of the segments 106 and any appropriate location. Inanother alternative, some may be positioned at manufacture (and snappedoff where desired in the field) and new or additional ones addedwherever desired at the time of installation in the field.

The above examples illustrate various aspects of the present inventions,and it is intended that various aspects of one embodiment may be appliedin the context of other embodiments.

FIG. 2 is an alternate perspective view of a gutter protector 20 inaccordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1D. The upper portion may beasserted under the shingles, or otherwise configured for installation.At the upper most point, a complete bend assists in providing rigidityto the protector and a rounded edge to ease insertion under shingles.

Two rows 21, 22 of openings are included in a middle portion of theprotector 20. In this example, the middle portion is substantially flat.

An arcuate bend 23 is configured so that, when installed, the portionbelow is bent back past the vertical. The arcuate bend may be relativelysharp, such as one formed by an aluminum brake.

The lower portion include two rows of openings of the type describedwith reference to FIG. 3B, below. The rows include openings that areoffset with respect to each other, in a manner such that any straightline down the lower portion will encounter at least one opening. Ofcourse other configurations (or additional rows) of openings can beused.

The bottom 24 of the lower portion is bent to the horizontal (wheninstalled) and bent again upward and back, to form a double-thickness ofaluminum (or other material). An internal segment 25 a, 25 b is cut atthe sides and bent down with the bend between 25 a, 25 b also unbent.

This particular embodiment is formed of 0.019″ or 0.024″ gauge aluminum,although other thicknesses or materials may be used. The length of thegutter protector 20 is about 7 inches. The lower portion is about 1inches in length.

The top edge of the gutter protector 20 has a double bend. The bend 25is about 3/4 inch in length, and makes the top edge of the gutterprotector more rigid than if the bend were omitted. In addition, thebend can serve to assist in keeping the gutter protection device 10 fromsliding out from under the shingles, after installation. The bend 25 inthe embodiment of FIG. 2 is bent downward, although a bend in the otherdirection would serve the same purpose.

The length of the bottom of the lower portion (e.g., of section 25 b or25 a) is ¾ inches.

The embodiment of FIG. 2 is made of a common stock of coiled aluminum,commonly available at job sites. The embodiment of FIG. 2 may be readilymanufactured using an aluminum brake. An aluminum brake may be used toplace folds and bends into aluminum, as known by one of skill in theart.

The openings 21, 22 may be formed using a standard waffle cut machine,such as the TRIM A SLITTER, with perforation attachment, available fromVanmark, Inc., of Framingham Hills, Mich. This type of machine is knownin the art, although typically used for the entirely different purposeof creating ventilation holes in soffit material. The openings 21, 22 ofthe embodiment of FIG. 2 are described in greater detail below. Ofcourse, regular holes of any shape may be used, to a somewhat differenteffect.

The openings 26 may be made by using a perforation punch to cut and foldthe metal out, or in, to form a protruding or retracting cup. In theembodiment shown, the cup extends outward to catch water. In anotherembodiment, the punch can be inverted and extend inward, so that waterwill follow (e.g., by adhesion) the inwardly bent portion while debrisfalls away.

Of course, other methods of manufacturing gutter protectors according tothe present invention are possible. In addition, the gutter protectorsaccording to the present invention may be made of one of a variety ofdifferent materials, such as vinyl, plastic and copper.

For easy installation, the gutter protector 20 may be formed in unitshaving a predetermined length, such as 6 feet. This would permitmanageable lengths of gutter protectors to be installed. Duringinstallation, the seams of the gutter protector units simply could beoverlapped and cut to size using snips.

A gutter protector according to the above embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 1A-2 may be installed in the following manner. The upper portion12 a of the gutter protector 10 is slid up under shingles 19, slightlytoo far. The lower part of gutter protector is then positioned at anappropriate height with respect to the gutter and the protector is slidout until the lower portion of the protector is properly engaged withthe gutter.

The openings illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 can be formed in any of avariety of ways. In particular, screens with any of a variety of openingsizes may be used; punched holes of any shape or size may be used; andany of a variety of other openings could be used.

A particularly advantageous opening is the waffle cut openingillustrated in FIG. 3A. For this type of opening, a portion 31 of thegutter protector 30 is pushed down. This leaves an opening 32, throughwhich water can flow. A similar opening is present on the opposite sideof the depressed portion 31, but is not illustrated because of theperspective of FIG. 3A.

Because the opening 32 is substantially vertical (i.e., a profile of theopening is substantially perpendicular to the surface 30), a top viewdoes not permit the opening to be seen. Instead, the top view shows onlythe material of the gutter protector 30 and the depressed portion 31.

The waffle cut openings are also substantially improved over openingscurrently used. In particular, water can flow through the openings 32,but the depression 31 prevents materials from falling into the gutter orfrom getting stuck into the hole. Thus, the opening illustrated in FIGS.3A and 3B reduces the amount of debris falling into the gutter which canclog the gutter and also reduces the amount of debris gathering on topof the gutter protector.

While the opening illustrated in FIG. 3A is generally rectangular(corresponding to waffle cuts produced by currently available machines),a variety of other shapes and configurations can be used to the sameeffect. For example, in the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 2, the wafflecuts are illustrated as running so that the length of the openings istransverse to the flow of water over the gutter system, indicated byarrows 13 a and 26, respectively. This has a tendency to increase theamount of water that can flow into the gutter through the opening. Inthe alternative, however, the opening length can run parallel to thedirection of the water. Water may still flow through the opening. Bylocating the opening generally parallel to the flow of water, however,the tendency of debris to get stuck in the opening can be reduced. Inparticular, debris is more likely to encounter an up-slope part of thedepressed portion 31. The debris is, therefore, more likely to followthe up-slope, and continue on off the edge of the gutter protector.

In addition, shapes other than a rectangular depression can be used,such as circles, squares or triangles. The depression may also form onlyone opening (at one side of the depression), two openings (as in FIG.3A), or more openings. In addition, the portion 31 could be raisedrather than depressed.

FIG. 3B illustrates openings designed for advantageous use on a surfaceslanted further than vertical when installed. The opening may be formedby punching a portion 33 a of the aluminum (where that is the materialbeing used) out, leaving behind it an opening 33 b. The portion 33 awill serve to funnel water into the gutter but, since debris wasfiltered, the risk of debris catching on the projections or being caughtand channeled into the gutter. As described above, however, otheropening configurations may be used such as standard holes (while, insome embodiments, waffle cut holes or the like may be used here, theyare not as necessary in a setting where the surface is slanted pastvertical and the weight of object will cause them to tend to fall awayfrom the protector).

Having thus described at least one illustrative embodiment of theinvention, various modifications and improvements will readily occur tothose skilled in the art and are intended to be within the scope of theinvention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of exampleonly and is not intended as limiting. The invention is limited only asdefined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is: 1-20. (canceled)
 21. A gutter protection devicecomprising: an upper portion; a substantially flat middle portiondisposed adjacent to the upper portion, the middle portion including afirst plurality of openings the middle portion adjacent to a first bend;and a substantially flat lower portion disposed adjacent to the firstbend, opposite the middle portion, and including a second plurality ofopenings; and an engagement portion to substantially engage a lip of thegutter along the length of the lower portion; and wherein the upper,middle, lower and engagement portions are of unitary construction. 22.The gutter protection device of claim 21, wherein the configuration ofthe first plurality of openings is different than the configuration ofthe second plurality of openings.
 23. The gutter protection device ofclaim 21, wherein the upper portion, the middle portion and the lowerportion are sized so that a part of the upper portion may be insertedunder a lowest row of shingles of the roof
 24. The gutter protectiondevice of claim 21, wherein the device is sized, and the engagementportion is shaped, so that the engagement portion rests on a lip of thegutter.
 25. The gutter protection device of claim 21, wherein the firstplurality of openings are substantially vertical.
 26. The gutterprotection device of claim 21, wherein the gutter protection device isof unitary construction.
 27. The gutter protection device of claim 26,wherein the engagement portion includes a plurality of clip segments toengage a lip of the gutter above and below the lip.
 28. A gutterprotection device comprising: a first surface; a first plurality ofopenings in the first surface; a second surface of unitary constructionwith the first surface; a second plurality of openings in the secondsurface; wherein the configuration of the first plurality of openingswith respect to the first surface, is different than the configurationof the second plurality of openings with respect to the second surface.29. The gutter protection device of claim 28, wherein the first and thesecond surfaces are not co-planar.
 30. The gutter protection device ofclaim 28, wherein the first and the second surface form an angle lessthan 90 degrees.
 31. The gutter protection device of claim 28, furthercomprising an engagement surface configured to engage a lip of a gutter.32. A gutter protection device comprising: a first portion for insertionunder shingles of a roof and past a fascia board; and a second portionto engage a lip of a gutter, the second portion including a plurality ofclip segments; wherein the first and the second portion are of unitaryconstruction.
 33. The gutter protection device of claim 32, wherein thesecond portion is sized and configured to engage the lip above and belowthe lip.
 34. A method of keeping debris from a gutter, comprising stepsof: (a) installing a gutter protection device so that a first portion ofthe device engages a lip of the gutter and a second portion extendsunder shingles of a roof and past a fascia board; (b) permitting waterto enter, while keeping debris from, the gutter through a first mode offiltering; and (c) permitting water to enter, while keeping debris from,the gutter through a second mode of filtering.
 35. The method of claim34, wherein the device engages a top of the lip.
 36. The method of claim35, wherein the device further engages a bottom of the lip.
 37. Themethod of claim 35, wherein the device further engages a side of thelip.
 38. The method of claim 34, wherein the device engages a bottom ofthe lip.